Feast of St. Timothy

So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God. 2Tim:8

Today is feast day, in the Roman Catholic Church, of Sts. Timothy and Titus. I know of no churches in our community named in honor of this early Bishop, protege of St. Paul. Therefore I read with greater interest since I am not familiar with Timothy or knowledgeable of the Epistles to him. The above quote from 2 Timothy is Paul's directive to Timothy, a future bishop, to evangelize freely and spread the good news of salvation of Jesus Christ.

We can all take heed from these words. In our daily lives, we are immersed in the secular world. It is a great world, created by God, but distorted by errors and by, frankly, sin. Thankfully, we do not have to have great sorrow in the word sin. We are all guilty at some time of committing offenses against God and doing or omitting things which result in harm to ourselves or others. We are all guilty of failing, despite our faith and other Christian acts, to worship God with the strength and vigor that such a task demands.

The joy in my life is greatly attributable to the atonement for sin brought by Jesus Christ. When I learned of this gift, freely given, it inspired me to attain a higher level of Christian fellowship and follow the Word of God.

I hope that in reflecting on the words of Paul to Timothy in today's designated lectionary reading, that I will take heed and to not only witness to the love of Christ, but speak of it proudly and openly and help others come to Christ so that they can experience the freedom that our redemption has given us, to love, live, and long for the time we will be with Christ in the Kingdom of God.